


five days of Christmas

by thearkdelinquents



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, Fluff, I just really wanted some more Shirbert Christmas content, Miss Stacy definitely rigged it, Secret Santa, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 11:00:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17140559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thearkdelinquents/pseuds/thearkdelinquents
Summary: “Who did you get?” Diana whispered, excitedly.Anne only pantomimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key. This was going to be a very interesting Christmas.-SHIRBERT SECRET SANTA!!!!





	five days of Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Did they do Secret Santa in the 1800s? Probably not. Are we going to pretend they did? Absolutely.

“If everyone would please take a seat, I have a very special surprise announcement!” Miss Stacy’s voice called everyone to attention.

 

The morning chatter stopped abruptly and was replaced by the sound of chairs scraping across the wood floor of the classroom while everyone eagerly took their seat. Miss Stacy watched it all with a mischievous grin on her face. Christmas decorations exploded across the classroom around them; they had spent the last few days preparing handmade decorations to bring the schoolhouse to a more festive mood. Popcorn chains hung from windows and paper snowflakes twirled in the air above their heads.

 

Anne sat up eagerly in her chair. Miss Stacy’s surprises were always intriguing. Anne attributed it to her high intellect. Whatever Miss Stacy had in store was sure to be fun.

 

“Since the holidays are fast approaching, I thought we’d start a game of sorts. Secret Santa!” Miss Stacy chirped, sending whispers across the classroom.

 

Anne groaned internally. She thought the idea of secret gift giving was truly romantical, but she hardly had the money to do so. Plus, what if the person who drew her name was horribly unimaginative like Charlie? Or even worse- Billy. Anne shuddered at the thought.

 

“I will call you up one by one and I will draw a name out of a hat for you. That is person for whom you are buying gifts. We have five days until we release for Christmas break and you are to bring a gift for that person every day until break begins. That is three gifts with the fourth and final one being given on Friday at our Christmas party! But, you have to be stealthy- the point is to not know who your gift-giver is until the big reveal with the final present on Friday!”

 

Anne immediately started to daydream. Her initial trepidations aside, this was a truly fantastic idea. The secrecy! The gifts! Maybe luck would be on her side and she would draw someone good like Diana or Ruby.

 

“I don’t want you all to worry about the financial aspect of this game- any gift is welcome. I have found that handmade presents are the ones I treasure most.” Miss Stacy smiled at the class, putting Anne’s rising anxiety at ease. “Gifts like poems or drawings or crafts or baked goods are often just as valuable as something bought in the store. Take the time to really think about what your person would like!”

 

With that, Miss Stacy turned back to her desk, pulling out a hat full of strips of paper.

 

“Oh, Diana this is the most delicious game I’ve ever played!” Anne whispered to her friend.

 

The girls squealed as their classmates were called up one by one to the front of the classroom.

 

“Gilbert Blythe!” Miss Stacy called.

 

Anne watched as he walked up to the front of the classroom. Miss Stacy reached in the hat, smiled at the name, and whispered in Gilbert’s ear. A small smile tugged up at the corner of Gilbert’s mouth as he nodded and turned back to his seat. Anne tried to watch his eyes to see if he looked in the direction of his recipient, but it seemed like he was making a point to stare straight ahead, the ghost of a smile still on his face.

 

 _He probably drew Charlie,_ Anne thought. _Ruby will wish it was her…_

 

“Anne Shirley-Cuthbert!”

 

A smile broke out across Anne’s face as she approached her teacher. Her mind raced with all of the possibilities and the gifts she would buy if she drew Diana or Ruby or Tillie or-

 

“Gilbert Blythe,” Miss Stacy whispered in Anne’s ear.

 

Anne’s stomach did a queer flip and Anne did her best to ignore it. Putting a grin on her face, Anne nodded and retreated back to her desk. She did not look at the face of anyone in her class and stared straight ahead when she sat down.

 

“Who did you get?” Diana whispered, excitedly.

 

Anne only pantomimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key. This was going to be a very interesting Christmas.

 

-

 

Anne rubbed the ribbon between her fingers. In her pocket was a bundle of gingersnaps, wrapped up and tied with green and red ribbon. When Anne explained the game Miss Stacy had started, Marilla was happy to help, but Anne insisted this was something she must do herself. She had gone through several batches before she finally got the perfect cookies. She meticulously wrapped them up, although not as extravagant as she wanted them to be. She figured if she went over the top with the wrapping like she wanted to, Gilbert would know it was her.

 

She planned the best time to leave him the present would be when she was taking off her coat in the coatroom when she first got there. She would leave it in the pocket of his jacket, so he would find them when he went to get his lunch. She knew he would be at the schoolhouse before her since it was his day for early lessons with Miss Stacy.

 

Even with this foolproof plan in place, though, Anne’s nerves were buzzing when she walked up the steps to the school. What if she got caught? People might think her a thief or Gilbert would figure out it was her and that would ruin the whole thing. When she got inside, though, she was alone in the coatroom. She seized her chance before someone else could come in and tucked the cookies in his coat quick as a flash. Anne almost whooped out loud at her victory but settled for a whispered celebration as she took her coat off.

 

So caught up in her own stealth, Anne had completely forgotten that she would also be receiving a gift. Every time Gilbert got up to go back to the coatroom, Anne watched as he retrieved whatever it was he needed, but he never found the gingersnaps. Then, lunch came and she was practically bursting with excitement. Purposefully taking a long time to pack up her belongings, Anne kept an eye on Gilbert as he went to retrieve his coat to eat outside. Realizing how hard she was staring, though, Anne forced herself to look back down at her desk. If Gilbert even glanced in her direction, he would see she was watching him and it wouldn’t take a genius to figure out why.

 

After packing up her things, Anne retreated to grab her own coat. As she shrugged it on, she looked out the window to see if she could sneak a glance at Gilbert to see if he had found the cookies. So focused on him, at first she didn’t notice when her hand touched something unfamiliar in her own coat pocket. When she felt it again, though, her attention snapped back to her hands. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a beautiful silk ribbon.

 

The ribbon flowed between her fingers, the blue of the fabric catching the light streaming in through the window. Anne’s breath caught in her throat as she looked at it. It wasn’t new, that she could tell, but it was beautiful. White lace was set in the middle of the silk and Anne’s fingers ran across the top of it.

 

“That is beautiful, Anne!” Diana said, coming up behind her.

 

Anne jumped at the sound of her voice, so concentrated on the ribbon. “Oh! You scared me. Yes, it is…”

 

Anne looked at the ribbon again, thankful to receive such a beautiful gift. Immediately, her brain started working to try and figure out who her Secret Santa was. It could be Diana, she knew how much Anne loved blue ribbons… It could also be Ruby, though. She continued going through all of the possibilities throughout lunch, completely forgetting about seeing if Gilbert got his gingersnaps.

 

When they came back inside for lessons, though, something caught Anne’s eye. As Gilbert sat down at his desk, Anne saw a green and red ribbon peeking out from his shirt sleeve. It was the same ribbon she had used to tie up the gingersnaps. Seeing it tied around his wrist brought a smile to Anne’s face and she did her best to hide it.

 

The rest of the day was full of everyone sneaking glances at each other, trying to figure out who was giving them their presents. Diana received a beautiful bracelet from someone, Ruby got a new handkerchief, and everyone laughed as Billy unwrapped his gift: a lump of coal.

 

Anne worried Miss Stacy would find the game too distracting and ask them to stop playing, but the teacher only smiled as everyone opened their hidden presents throughout the day. Surprisingly, everyone stayed focused throughout the lessons, only getting hyper when someone found a gift during breaks. Anne figured the mini distractions throughout the day only fueled the concentration when lessons were had. She locked that information away, knowing it would come in handy in her future career.

 

-

 

The next morning, Anne smiled as she felt her braid bump against her back as she walked towards the schoolhouse. She was glad her hair had finally gotten back to the length it was before the Green Incident and she could wear her new ribbon.

 

She was also excited to give Gilbert his second gift; she had been up all night finishing it. Anne found herself silently thanking Marilla for pushing her to practice knitting more in the last few months. It was a miracle getting the present done in time.

 

Anne heard the door open behind her as she finished putting her coat on her designated hook.

 

“Good morning, Anne!” Gilbert said, shaking the snow out of his hair.

 

Anne did her best to ignore her heart beating frantically in her chest and smiled back. “Good morning, Gilbert!”

 

“Is that a new ribbon?” he said, taking hold of the ribbon tied at the end of her hair. “I like it.”

 

Anne stopped breathing as Gilbert smiled at her, his hands still holding the end of her braid. “Oh, erm, thank you,” She looked back at Gilbert’s coat hook, “looks like your Secret Santa left you something.”

 

As Gilbert turned to look, Anne started back towards her desk, looking down at her feet to avoid showing the giddy grin spreading across her face. She looked over her shoulder as Gilbert reached for the red scarf hanging on his hook. She hadn’t gotten much sleep, but that scarf was her best work yet; Matthew even said so at breakfast this morning. She had had some trouble deciding on a color but figured the deep red would stand out the best against his dark hair. Anne looked back forward as Gilbert took the scarf off the hook and turned towards the classroom. She bit her lip to keep from smiling again.

 

As she reached down to pull out her books for the day, Anne noticed a paper scroll, tied to the corner of her desk. She quietly untied it and unfurled the paper, reading the script written across the page.

 

“She was trouble,

Chaos, really,

But her smile,

Her smile,

Dared me to fall in love with her.”

 

Anne read and reread the words until she was sure everyone in the classroom could hear her heart thudding in her chest. Someone had written her a poem. An actual poem. Her eyes kept snagging on a word in the last line… “love”…

 

Tears started to form in Anne’s eyes as she reread the poem again. She was sure it was the most beautiful piece of literature she had ever seen in her entire life. She tucked the scroll in an inside pocket of her dress and pulled out her books. Whoever had written it didn’t necessarily have to be in love with her. If Diana was her Secret Santa, she knew how much Anne loved poetry, even if it wasn’t always relatable. Anne was just an appreciator of fine language. Anyone knew that. Anne decided that the poem wasn’t actually a declaration but rather an objective love poem someone thought she would enjoy.

 

“What is that, Anne?” Diana whispered, nodding towards where Anne had just tucked the scroll.

 

“Nothing, just my Secret Santa gift.” Anne whispered back.

 

“Ooh what was it?”

 

“A poem,” Anne replied, smirking at her friend.

 

“A poem! Oh, that is so romantic.” Diana wiggled her eyebrows at her friend.

 

As Diana turned around to tell Ruby what Anne got, Anne rolled her eyes and laughed, though she secretly enjoyed having such a gossip-worthy gift.

 

Throughout lunch the girls kept pestering Anne to read them the poem, but she refused. She figured whoever had given it to her meant for only her to enjoy it. And they were right, she did enjoy it. She read it hundreds of times throughout the day.

 

-

 

Saving up her money for the final gift, Anne went homemade for Gilbert’s third gift. The Christmas party was the next day, so she asked Matthew ride to Charlottetown to get his final present that morning.

 

As she walked through the woods, Anne couldn’t tell if she was more excited about giving Gilbert his gift or receiving hers from her Secret Santa. Inspired by her present from the day before, Anne wrote Gilbert a story. Everyone always talked about how particularly loquacious she was, so she decided to use it to her advantage. She had spent the entire afternoon writing pages describing the adventures of a pirate with unruly black curls, fighting his way across the sea to return to his love on shore.

 

Even though Anne knew she was an excellent storyteller, she was incredibly nervous to give him this present. Gilbert had seen and read numerous things she could only imagine, she was worried her words wouldn’t do the world justice. She had reconsidered her gift numerous times throughout the evening as she wrote but decided she just didn’t have time to figure out a new gift.

 

Swallowing her anxiety, Anne slipped the folded pages into Gilbert’s coat as she walked into the schoolhouse. Anne prided herself on her newfound skill at sneaking things into pockets. She thought herself a reverse pickpocket.

 

Anne walked up to her desk to find Diana, Ruby, Josie, and Tillie whispering animatedly to each other. Ruby had opened her Secret Santa present to find a heart shaped cookie inside. They were all trying to figure out who had given it to her. Anne looked around at the rest of the class. The boys were gathered together towards the back of the classroom, horsing around. Anne noticed Charlie kept glancing over towards them, and at Ruby in particular.

 

“I think it was Charlie!” Anne whispered.

 

“What?!” Ruby almost shouted back.

 

“Don’t look but he keeps looking over here,” Anne said, glancing in his direction.

 

Not particularly apt at following instructions, all of the girls turned to look at Charlie at the same time. Anne slapped her forehead as Charlie noticed and turned beet red, turning back to the other boys.

 

The girls all broke out in a fit of giggles as Ruby started to blush.

 

“I think you’re right, Anne,” Diana said, smirking at Ruby.

 

Ruby’s blush only deepened, and the girls turned around in their desks as Miss Stacy called the classroom back to order to begin the lessons.

 

As Anne bent down to get her milk bottle out of the stream at lunch, Anne noticed Gilbert sitting beneath a tree a few feet away. His lunch sat beside him as he held her story in his hands. Her nerves skyrocketed until she noticed the smile on his face as he scanned the pages. He seemed to be really enjoying it and Anne’s worries calmed. She also noticed he was sporting the scarf she had made him, the red bright against his curls and the snow on the ground. She watched as his eyes moved fast across the page, soaking up the story.

 

Realizing she was staring again, Anne made herself turn around and head back into the schoolhouse to finish lunch with her friends. Throughout their conversations and conspiracies surrounding Secret Santa, Anne only thought about how enraptured Gilbert looked reading her words. To her, that was a greater gift than whatever was waiting for her from her Secret Santa.

 

As Anne left the classroom for the day, she searched through her pockets to see what her Secret Santa had left her. Nothing met her fingers, though. Confused and a little disappointed, Anne started her walk back towards Green Gables.

 

Trying to ignore her disappointment, Anne chatted with Diana on their walk through the woods. As they walked, though, Anne noticed something on their path.

 

“Do you see that?” Anne said, stopping her friend.

 

 “It looks like… oh, it’s a present!”

 

Sure enough, sitting on top of a stump on the edge of the path towards Green Gables was a wrapped package. Anne ran towards it, picking up the gift to look at the tag. Just as she suspected, her name was scrawled across the tag. She ripped into the wrapping to find a copy of _Jane Eyre._ Anne squealed at the sight- she had given Josephine Barry back her copy and missed it terribly. Now she had her very own copy to read until the pages fell out.

 

“That is the perfect gift!” Diana said, looking over Anne’s shoulder.

 

“Yes, it is perfect, isn’t it, Diana?” Anne turned around at her friend, raising an eyebrow at her accusingly.

 

Diana only shook her head, “I am not your Secret Santa, I promise.”

 

“You swear?” Anne said.

 

“I swear.” Diana replied solemnly.

 

“Well then who could it be…” Anne whispered, looking at the book again.

 

-

 

“Anne Shirley, if you don’t hurry up you’re going to miss the entire party!” Marilla shouted from downstairs.

 

“I’m coming!”

 

Anne finished tying the green ribbon at the bottom of her braids. She normally detested wearing green because of her fiery red hair, but the clashing colors were festive this time of year. She pulled on her socks and bounded down the stairs.

 

“Here you go,” Matthew said, handing Anne a small wrapped box. “They wrapped it at the store.”

 

“Thank you so much, Matthew!” Anne threw her arms around him, thankful for his help in finding the perfect gift.

 

He stuttered a bashful “It was no problem,” when she expressed as much.

 

“You’ve certainly been putting a lot of thought into these gifts, Anne.” Marilla said with an uncharacteristic smirk tilting up her face.

 

“Well, Marilla that is only because he got me such a thoughtful gift last year that I have to be even _more_ thoughtful. It is all a matter of competition, really.” Anne said, placing the present in her bag.

 

Anne ignored the look that Matthew and Marilla shared as she pulled on her boots. She said goodbye and hopped down the porch, back towards the schoolhouse she had just left a couple of hours ago. Miss Stacy had dismissed them a bit early so everyone could go home and get ready for the Christmas party that afternoon. Everyone was bringing dishes of food, Anne sporting a casserole Marilla made that morning.

 

The sun was dipping low in the sky as Anne approached the schoolhouse. Several of her classmates were already inside; she could hear their chatter.

 

When Anne got inside, she set the casserole down on the designated food table Miss Stacy had pushed against the wall but kept her bag on. She wanted to be able to pull Gilbert aside to give him his present. She didn’t want everyone to see her do it, she thought it might be weird to have an audience for non-anonymous gift giving.

 

As she looked around, though, she noticed Gilbert wasn’t there yet.

 

“Is Gilbert not here yet?” Anne asked Diana and Ruby.

 

“I’m not sure…” Ruby said, uncharacteristically indifferent.

 

Anne looked at her friend, confused, and noticed Ruby was smiling across the room at someone. Following her line of sight, Anne saw Charlie on the other side of the room, giving Ruby a small wave. Anne watched as Ruby giggled and waved back.

 

“Oh, brother.” Anne muttered to Diana.

 

Diana snickered and snapped her fingers to get Ruby’s attention. “Who did you have for Secret Santa?”

 

“Oh!” Ruby said, pulled out of her trance. “I had Tillie! I gave her her final present when I got here.”

 

The girls looked over to Tillie, who was showing Josie her new necklace.

 

“How wonderful!” Diana said.

 

“Who did you have, Diana?” Ruby asked.

 

“I had Moody,” Diana smiled, pulling a small box out of her pocket. “I got him a lightbulb. I thought it would be funny.”

 

“That is perfect!” Ruby and Anne giggled.

 

“So if neither of you have me, then who does?” Anne asked, still trying to solve the mystery.

 

Since Diana had sworn it wasn’t her, Anne figured it could only have been Ruby that would give her gifts so thoughtful.

 

Just then the door to the classroom opened again and Moody and Gilbert walked in. The boys were greeted by the usual cheers of the other boys in the room and Anne watched as Gilbert put his dish down and joined them. She would just have to wait for him to get a drink to approach him.

 

As the night went on, though, Anne found it particularly difficult to get Gilbert alone. If he went to refill his punch, she would either be busy in conversation or too nervous to say something. The fact that she was nervous annoyed her to no end. It was _Gilbert_. Why was she nervous? She just told herself she was worried he wouldn’t like the gift.

 

After eating a plate full of her classmate’s dishes, Anne found herself craving cool night air. She excused herself from her friends and went outside to appreciate the splendor of winter. She sat on a rock beneath a tree, appreciating the candlelight from the schoolhouse casting moving shadows across the snow.

 

“Mind if I join you?” Anne heard behind her.

 

“Gilbert!” She said, standing up. “Of course. I was just indulging in winter’s beauty.”

 

Anne looked back out across the schoolyard as Gilbert took his place beside her. They sat in silence for a moment, looking up at the stars beginning to twinkle above them.

 

Taking a deep breath, Anne turned towards Gilbert. “Okay, I have something for you.”

 

Gilbert turned to face her, a smirk on his face. “I know you do.”

 

Anne’s mouth tilted down into a frown. “What?!”

 

“I know you’re my Secret Santa.” Gilbert laughed at the preposterous look on Anne’s face.

 

“What? How- You- How could you…” Anne sighed, resigned. “How did you figure it out?”

 

“The second line of my story used the word ‘magnanimous’ correctly.” Gilbert laughed again.

 

Anne groaned, “I knew I used too many words.”

 

“No, no, it was perfect!” Gilbert said, pulling her arm to make her face him again. “Really, it was. You’re an incredible storyteller.”

 

“Well since the cat is out of the bag, I might as well give you your final present,” Anne reached into her bag and pulled out the box. “Here you go.”

 

Gilbert smiled at her and took the gift from her, pulling the ribbons loose. He lifted the lid and stopped, staring at the gift. It was a brown leather-bound journal, his initials burned into the bottom corner. A pen rested beside it, tucked in the tissue. Anne had used much of her savings for it.

 

Anne rubbed her arms nervously as Gilbert stared at the journal, not saying anything. “I can return it if you don’t like-“

 

Anne’s sentence was interrupted by Gilbert’s laughter.

 

“What’s so funny?” Anne demanded. If he didn’t like it that was one thing, but to laugh at her was cruel.

 

“Anne, I’m _your_ Secret Santa.” Gilbert laughed again.

 

“Okay?” Anne said, still confused over his sudden laughter.

 

Gilbert reached down into his own bag and handed Anne a box. “Open it.”

 

Anne took it but made no move to open it. “Do you not like your gift?” Anne asked again.

 

“Just open yours!” Gilbert gestured towards her box again.

 

Anne huffed and pulled the ribbon off the box, lifting the lid to see… a brown leather journal with her initials burned into the corner. Tears welled up in Anne’s eyes as she let out her own watery laugh. The journal was beautiful, one of the nicest things she owned.

 

“Gilbert…” Anne breathed, smiling up at him.

 

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I thought, since you were such a good writer-”

 

“Well I got you yours to write down your studies!”

 

“You can write more stories!”

 

“You can take notes on patients!”

 

They both just stood there, smiling at each other for a moment.

 

“I love it, Anne.” Gilbert whispered. “thank you. For all of them.”

 

Anne threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

 

A thought struck Anne and she leaned back, but still in the circle of his arms.

 

“So… you wrote that poem…” Anne said.

 

Gilbert stepped back, hands nervously going to the back of his neck. “I, uh… yeah…”

 

Anne just looked at him as he avoided her eyes.

 

“I just, I don’t know, I know you like poetry and I thought I’d write a poem…” He stopped fidgeting and looked into her eyes, seeming to come to a decision. “About you.”

 

The breath was knocked out of Anne as she stared into his eyes. There was a fire inside of them, but also a wariness. She felt like she was standing on the edge of something and she could either back away or jump.

 

_She was trouble,_

_Chaos, really,_

_But her smile,_

_Her smile,_

_Dared me to fall in love with her_

_When you are loved then you will be kissed._

 

Anne closed the distance between them, throwing her arms around his shoulders again, but this time, bringing her lips to his.

 

Gilbert made a startled sound but before Anne could pull away, she felt one of his hands hold her back and the other cup the back of her head. Their kiss deepened until she was sure her entire body was on fire. The two of them were engulfed in flames and all the snow around them would melt and they would burn a hole right in the ground. The only thing keeping Anne from floating away into space was Gilbert’s hands holding her to him.

 

Eventually they parted for air, both breathing heavily, their foreheads still touching.

 

“Merry Christmas, Gilbert.” Anne whispered, staring into his dark eyes set ablaze.

 

“Merry Christmas, Anne.” He whispered back, a smile on his lips.

**Author's Note:**

> It's Christmas Eve and I woke up this morning and was like- I'm going to write a Christmas fic. So I wrote this today. And published it. Today. Because Christmas.
> 
> Also, that poem is definitely NOT by me, it's by internet poet "Atticus". I saw it in an Anne gifset on Tumblr and it wouldn't get out of my mind so I put it in here because why not.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!! Please leave feedback/kudos!


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